Foundation House Ministries will hold a luncheon on Friday, April 23, to expand awareness about the need for affordable, transitional housing for mothers in a crisis. The nonprofit provides financial, emotional and physical support to mothers or pregnant women who struggle with addiction, homelessness and joblessness.
Tickets to the luncheon will be free, but Foundation House Ministries asks for companies or individuals to sponsor a table for $200.
The event will be held at the Old Woolen Mill, 445 Church St. SE in Cleveland.
Executive Director of Foundation House Ministries Suzanne Burns, will be the keynote speaker of the luncheon, and she plans to share her story of being a single mom going through her own crisis. Ms. Burns says that 95 percent of her clients graduate with stable housing, but that percentage could improve with transitional housing. She said that affordable housing is hard to find, and many of the clients do not qualify for income-based housing programs due to their histories.
“We need more affordable, transitional housing in our communities. We dream of being able to open a transitional housing program that would be affordable and allow our moms and other low-income families in our communities to live with very low rent for 5-10 years, giving them enough time to grow their income and personal stability to be able to afford standard market rent,” said Ms. Burns.
She hopes to build an apartment complex that would serve more than 100 mothers on their 10-acre lot.
Foundation House Ministries is asking that businesses or individuals RSVP to the luncheon by emailing suzanneb@foundationhouseministries.org. If you would like to support the nonprofit by volunteering or donating, visit www.foundationhouseministries.org.